Employment Rights Bill amendments to mark a huge generational change

The Employment Rights Bill introduced fairer measures for zero-hour workers. Now, it’s set to be amended even further; over 200 pages worth, in fact.

Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, has described the latest amendments as ‘the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation’. So, what are the latest changes to the Employment Rights Bill?

What is the Employment Rights Bill?

The Employment Rights Bill was first published in Oct 2024. It was the first phase of delivering Labour’s ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ and supports the Government’s mission to increase productivity

The Bill supports the government’s mission to increase productivity amongst the UK’s workforce and create the right conditions for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The Employment Rights Bill:

• Addresses one-sided flexibility, banning exploitative zero-hour contracts, ending ‘fire and rehire’ and introducing a day-one right to protection from unfair dismissal.
• Supports families with positive changes to Bereavement Leave, paternity and unpaid parental leave, and new protections for women who are pregnant or have just returned to work.
• Prioritises workers’ wellbeing and mental health by strengthening gender pay gap reporting, giving employers new duties to prevent sexual harassment, and adding sexual harassment to the list of protected disclosures.
• Gives workers fair pay by removing the Lower Earnings Limit for Statutory Sick Pay, ensuring workers receive tips in full and improving terms and conditions for school support staff.
• Modernises trade union legislation to give trade unions more freedom to represent and negotiate on behalf of workers.

Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill

There are several proposed amendments in the 222-page Bill, but some of the key changes include:

• Workers on zero-hours contracts will be offered guaranteed minimum hours but they can stick with the original terms if they prefer.
• One of the biggest changes is to include agency workers in the zero-hours ban. Initially, the Bill excluded agency workers from the provision, but trade unions argued that this could be used as a loophole employers could exploit to get around the new rights.
• Workers will receive either Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or 80% of their weekly pay, whichever is lower. This removes the SSP waiting period and the lower earnings limit.
• Amendments to the guaranteed hours provisions suggest an employer may not have to include guaranteed hours in the worker’s contract if mutually agreed.
• Employers must give workers reasonable notice of their shifts and any changes or cancellations, giving employees more certainty.
• The proposal to remove the phrase ‘any one establishment’ from collective redundancy rules has been changed. Originally, businesses would have been required to hold collective consultations if they were making 20 or more redundancies, even if no single location had 20 job cuts. The amendment suggests that, if redundancies happen at multiple locations, the Government can set a higher threshold (above 20) to decide when collective consultation is required.
• The Secretary of State can give an employer a notice of underpayment, where they have failed to pay a worker properly, e.g. National Minimum Wage or SSP, requiring them to pay what is due.
• Two weeks’ bereavement leave will be offered to parents who experience a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks’ gestation.

You can read the paper in full here.

When will the Bill be amended?

The Employment Rights Bill amendments are scheduled for a third reading this week, on Tuesday 11^th and Wednesday 12^th March 2025. During this reading, MPs will debate the changes and have the opportunity to amend the Bill further.

Once the Bill passes this stage, it will move to the House of Lords. It is unlikely that any proposed amendments will become law anytime soon, but our employment law solicitors will provide an update as soon as we know more.

Need employment advice? Contact our specialist team

Whether you’re an employer who needs guidance on updating employment contracts or a business transfer, or you are an employee looking for common-sense advice about your employment rights, we can help.

Call our employment solicitors in Bristol on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form and we will be in touch.